Tejer redes universitarias: UPC Nexus24 Program

28 - 29 APR | 2022 EUA Annual Conference | BUDAPEST, HUNGARY University values: what, why and how?

Embedding collaboration throughout the university.

The UPC Nexus24 Program.

Didac Ferrer Balas, Pere Losantos, Eva Vendrell, Lourdes Reig

Contents 1.

2.

3.

4.

Why How Results Challenges

Why our university needed to be more collaborative?

University values: what, why and how?

The value of collaboration is at the heart of any sustainable solution or strategy.

Sustainability efforts in universities have generally focused on curriculum, research, operations or outreach.

But what happens if we focus on the organizational model?

Back in 2014 …

Energy consumption

Energy saving plan: Reduced 27% consumption & emissions UPC saved 4 M€ sense of belonging

la l o C

n o i t a bor

s! k r wo

Our purpose (2014):

Working in a collaborative way at UPC will be normal by 2024

5 objectives to share knowledge to motivate people

to gain flexibility

to improve the university

to take advantadge of all talent

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/the-five-trademarks-of-agile-organizations

The Dual model: 1 organisation, 2 operating systems Different principles, different functions ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Mission Hierarchy Process Predictibility Efficiency Creates certainty Rigidity Hours

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

OPERATE

EXPLORE

WE MUST

WHAT IF?

Purpose Autonomy Project Emergence Resilience Generates value Flexibility Results

Image from “Accelerate”, J.P.Kotter

3 impacts By collaborating, we… …learn form eachother

…connect eachother

…solve issues together

Knowledge capital

Social capital

Utility capital

How are we doing the transformation at UPC?

Like swimming, we learn to collaborate by collaborating

4 types of collaborative initiatives in Nexus24 collaborative school

collaborative projects

collaborative events

collaborative digital knowledge networks

6 editions 150p

51 projects 348p

73 events 615 p

2 networks 452 p

Learning to collaborate 25p/edition

4-6 people Focus on a problem/idea Learning to collaborate

20-150 people Collective intelligence Generating value

150-300 people Permanent network on a topic Knowledge management

Examples of collaborative projects Problem: “Quality is boring” Solution: simplification of forms, creation of a community of practice of quality

PERMANENT NETWORK since 2016 “Mail to ticket” Problem: many hours lost in reading similar emails for recurring incidents Solution: automatic process to transfer emails in a ticketing system

AUTOMATIZATION

Collaborative events

Example: mapathon of accessibility

Available mapping tool at: mapathon.upc.edu

Results and lessons learned

We want to visualize how collaborative work connects the university staff

2014

2015

2018

2019

2016

2020

2017

2021

73 Collaborative events with 615 different people connected / 6 Collaborative yearly events with 150 different people connected 51 Collaborative projects with 348 different people connected / 2 Collaborative digital large networks with 452 different people connected

BEFORE Nexus24 collaborative projects (2014)

AFTER Nexus24 collaborative projects (2021)

Average path length

4,3

3,5 -20%

Nodes= 1450p admin. staff.

Edges = collaborative projects Violet= Schools management units, Green= central services, Blue Libraries.

Simulation run on Gephi.

Both Library and campuses move to the center of the graph.

Fostering collaboration needs 3 roles

sponsor protects and gives importance to the work done

collaborators “do the work”

facilitator helps in improving the quality of the collaboration

Fundamental elements of collaboration

Dynamics in collaborative teams

Final studies Master thesis Lazzerini, Ginevra Marina https://upcommons.upc.edu/handle/2117/111013

Conclusions 1. Give real value. Everyone says “collaboration is important”, but giving value means resources, tools, method, culture, attitude.

2. Effectivity + Affectivity: Care the human dimension 3. Growing slow like a wood. 10Y process (8Y until now) 4. Show and count collaboration! The importance of visualizing & measuring collaboration (and the difficulty) 5. Into the core of the HR strategy. Collaborative competences in selection processes, retain and motivate people, collaboration management & facilitation can be a key a professional skill for admin staff.

Challenges and opportunities

In this “VUCA” world, embracing the collaborative mode is crucial for all -included universities-

4-helix model

Our challenges Manage the dual model internally ➔ ➔ ➔

Make better use of collective intelligence processes & tools Train and hire staff with collaborative competences Ensure the heads of units to allow non-hierarchical collaboration to occur

Expand the collaborative communities from the administrative teams to the whole university: academic, students, alumni, external… ➔ ➔ ➔

Collaborative communities for relevant topics Solid fundaments for collaborative learning (in the classroom) Transdisciplinary research, citizen science and other social-centered research processes

didac.ferrer@upc.edu Innovation & Community Bureau, UPC